Finance Minutes 2nd April 2014

April 2, 2014

Finance Minutes 2014

MINUTES of the Meeting of the Finance & General Purposes Committee
held at
The Guildhall, Church Street, Harwich
on Wednesday 2nd April 2014 at 7pm

Present:	Councillors Brown, Calver, Fowler, I Henderson, King, McLeod, Morrison, Thompson and Todd
In the Chair:	Councillor Day
Clerk:	Mrs Lucy Ballard
Also present:	0 members of the public, 0 members of the press and Cllr C Powell

Public Question Time:
None

F130/13	APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE J Henderson (substituted by Cllr D King)
F131/13	DECLARATIONS OF MEMBERS’ INTERESTS None
F132/13	MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING RESOLVED that the minutes of the Finance & General Purposes meeting held on Wednesday 5th February 2014 (previously circulated) be approved by the Committee and signed by the Chairman as a true record. FURTHER RESOLVED: that the confidential minutes of the Finance & General Purposes meeting held on Wednesday 5th February 2014 (previously circulated) be approved by the Committee and signed by the Chairman as a true record.
F133/13	MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES • The Clerk informed members that the Sparks will Fly Bead is currently being house at Harwich Sports Centre on a temporary basis. • Members noted the options considered for a noticeboard on the HillSchool site. The Clerk will seek quotations and refer back to a future meeting of the committee.
F134/13	HARWICH INTERNATIONAL SHANTY FESTIVAL RESOLVED: Deferred until further information is sought from applicant.
F135/13	HARWICHSECRETGARDENS RESOLVED: To fund s137 grant of £118.80.
F136/13	4THDOVERCOURTSEA SCOUTS RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND: To fund s137 grant of £750
F137/13	HARWICH SOCIETY (HARWICH IN BLOOM) RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND: To fund s137 grant of £1200 with a view to reviewing the way in which this funding is administered.
F138/13	HARWICH & DISTRICT SOCIAL STROKE GROUP RESOLVED: To fund s137 grant of £250
F139/13	ST NICHOLAS WELCOME COMMITTEE RESOLVED: To fund s137 grant of £120
F140/13	HARWICH FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND: To fund s137 grant of £3000, to cover £2045 for the lunchtime concerts and £955 towards the Great Big Celebration of Young Harwich Day.
F141/13	CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU RESOLVED: Not to fund
F142/13	HARWICH SOCIETY The Clerk, in relation to Min F114/13, informed members that further, comparable quotations had been sought in relation to the grant funding application that had been submitted, and a lower quote had been obtained, but for equipment of a higher specification and therefore the total grant to be awarded would be reduced from £2361.84 to £1920.
F143/13	OLD MAYORAL ROBES The Clerk referred to Min F118/13 and reported that the archivists felt that there was no apparent historical relevance of the old Mayoral Robes. RESOLVED: To retain all gowns in the Guildhall and investigate suitable forms of storage.
F144/13	FLOOD SIREN WORKING PARTY Cllr Day reported that Trinity House are willing to create a licence to Harwich Town Council, to site the flood siren, and provide authority to Harwich Town Council to put in for Planning Permission. He referred to the need to push forward with the Emergency Planning team at TDC to ensure the siren is incorporated into this.
F145/13	HILL SCHOOL SITE Members considered a request from a member of the public to utilise the grassed area of the site for the purposes of recall training with his dog. Cllr Day had concerns over the safety of our existing tenants, many of which are children. RESOLVED: To refuse the request Members considered a request from the DTG to seek permission to take vehicles onto the site for the benefit of their most disabled members. RESOLVED: To permit vehicular access explicitly for those two members of the group, for use with their registered vehicles.(see Garry for exact wording)
F146/13	WW1 COMMEMORATION WORKING PARTY Members considered recommendations for commemorating the first world war, including refurbishment of the local war memorials; drawing up a framed list of 136 residents who lost their lives; and scattering poppy seeds on an area of the Cliff slopes, directly opposite the Minesweepers memorial. RESOLVED: To earmark £250, to be transferred from existing Earmarked funds, to be expended on purchasing poppy seeds with a view to having the ground prepared in time for seeding in the first two weeks of July.
F147/13	LEISURE FACILITIES Members considered a request from the Putting Green Working Party to purchase some new equipment. RESOLVED: Defer whilst enquiries as to source and cost are made. Members considered a request from the Putting Green Working Party to introduce a loyalty card/promotion to encourage repeated use. The Clerk confirmed that Entrac Printing would print the cards at no cost to the Council. RESOLVED: To support the idea, to be worked up by the Working Party, in consultation with the Clerk from a financial aspect and brought back to committee/Full Council for approval. Members reviewed the current pricing of the facility and RESOLVED: To freeze prices with a view to increase viability through improved marketing.
F148/13	GUILDHALL FLAT Cllr Day encouraged discussion about the future use of the vacant flat area and suggested that it was in need of some refurbishment to enable it to be used for business purposes. RESOLVED: To obtain some quotes to remove the kitchen and redecorate with a view to establishing a future use. Electing Cllr Day, Cllr Morrison and Cllr King to view the area and make recommendations as to the extent of the works.
F149/13	GUILDHALL DISABLED ACCESS Cllr Day updated members on progress made with plans to install disabled access to the Grade I Listed building. He referred to the possible amendment to the plans to alter the frontage of the Guildhall/pavement, and that the surveyor was in the process of obtaining comparable quotations for the stairlift. He also referred to other works which would be incorporated with the disabled access, including the need to update parts of the heating system (boiler and radiators), for which quotations were being sought.

F150/13	MATTERS TO BE REPORTED The Clerk reported advertising consent had been granted for the Tourist Information Board which has since been installed on the Original Factory Shop. The Clerk notified members of the need to review and update the Council’s Financial Regulations in order to take advantage of the repeal of s.150(5) of the Local Government Act 1972 and abandon the ‘Two signature rule’ currently imposed for the signing of cheques. The Clerk informed members of the need to replace the lock on the Guildhall, as an emergency repair, at a cost of £172.20, to be expended from the Maintenance reserve. And also that the back door had been partially repair with additional work to be carried out over the next two weeks. The Clerk informed members of a possible impending investigation into parking in Highfield Avenue, and was awaiting a telephone call from PC White at Harwich Police Station.
F151/13	MATTERS RECEIVED IN THE POST OF INFORMATION RAISED BY MEMBERS Members noted receipt of an Evaluation form from the Grand Theatre of Lemmings Members noted receipt of an Evaluation form from Harwich Quay Fireworks Members noted a letter of thanks for grant from Teen Talk (Harwich) Members noted receipt of an Evaluation form from The Harwich Festival of the Arts Members noted receipt of an Evaluation form from the Harwich & District Social Stroke Group
F152/13	DATE OF NEXT MEETING The date of the next meeting of the Finance and General Purposes Committee will be confirmed once the schedule of meetings for the 2014/15 Municipal year had been agreed.

The Chairman closed the meeting at 9.30pm

Finance Minutes 2nd April 2014

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